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To no one's surprise, the Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of the two largest funeral home and cemetery chains, Service Corporation International (SCI, also known as "Dignity Memorial") and Stewart Enterprises. While the feds are requiring SCI to sell of 91 locations (53 funeral homes and 38 cemeteries) in various parts of the country, the consolidation of the two biggest funeral chains under the banner of SCI is not good news for consumers. SCI has long been one of the biggest sources of consumer complaints—deceptive sales pitches, violating consumer protection rules on the right to choose funeral goods and services, and more.

Boston public radio's WBUR has written the best piece on the emotional and practical realities of do it yourself home funeral care we've seen. You can also watch video of one young couple talk about caring for their infant daughter at home after death. Hats off to Rachel Zimmerman, the editor, and to the home funeral guides and families who took part!

Death remains a topic that many of us would rather avoid. And when it comes to the actual nuts and bolts of caring for the dead, most of us tend to think it's best — and furthermore, required by law — to let professional funeral arrangers handle the arrangements.

Well, it turns out that in most states it's perfectly legal to care for your own dead. And, with new momentum to shatter longstanding taboos and stop tip-toeing around death — from "death with dignity" measures sweeping the country to projects promoting kitchen table "conversations"about our deepest end-of-life wishes — a re-energized DIY death movement is emerging.

• Your funeral plans• Where your important papers are• Who should take care of your pets and how• Who to call when the time comes• That you love them enough to get it together with. . .

Before I Go, You Should Know®, the comprehensive end-of-life planner. Featuring illustrations by Edward Gorey, BIG has more than 30 pages to record everything from your preference for burial or cremation to how to close down your social media accounts and online life.

bigpetspageIncludes:

—Two free chapters from the book Final Rights with consumer funeral and burial rights and rules specific to your state. —A survivor’s checklist of important but often overlooked tasks when death occurs.—A place to record all the biographical information your family will need for an obituary, funeral, or memorial service

In the death-care industry, as practitioners call it, SCI casts a long shadow. Based in Houston and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYX), it operates more than 1,800 funeral homes and cemeteries in the U.S. and Canada. It has 20,000 employees and a market capitalization of $4 billion. For 40 years, SCI has gobbled competitors as the pioneer consolidator of a fragmented industry. Although it has overreached at times, suffering a corporate near-death experience after a late-1990s debt binge, SCI is hungry once again.

Finally. The US Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal from the state of Louisiana means it's now the law: You don't have to have a funeral directors license to sell coffins in the Bayou state. It's a little bittersweet; we were used to watching the state's undertaker's regulatory board playing Don Quixote for years against a group of monks who wanted only to build and sell wood coffins. Guess it's back to General Hospital for us.

NEW ORLEANS —Benedictine monks have won the final round in their lawsuit to keep selling caskets from their monastery outside New Orleans. Their attorney, Darpana Sheth, calls it a great victory for St. Joseph Abbey and for entrepreneurs nationwide.Sheth says she learned Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court won't hear the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors' appeal.

A district judge and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had found no reasonable grounds for a regulation that only state-licensed funeral directors may sell coffins in Louisiana.

The 5th Circuit was the third federal appeals court to rule against similar laws or regulations. The 10th Circuit ruled in favor of them.

The funeral board referred a request for comment to its attorney, who did not immediately return a call.